Survey to track Pacific migrants

The U.S. Department of the Interior by December 2018 plans to count the number of people who travel under the Compacts of Free Association in Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to determine how much federal money Hawaii and the U.S. territories will receive to offset “the economic and social impacts of these migrants,” the Interior Department said Thursday.

At the same time, the Trump administration — without explanation — is proposing to eliminate about $3 million in discretionary, federal funds to help pay for so-called COFA migrants in Hawaii.

The Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 requires the Interior Department to count the number of COFA migrants every five years.

In 2008, 12,215 COFA migrants were counted in the islands. The number jumped to 14,700 in 2013.

Guam’s numbers fell between 2008 and 2013 — to 17,710 from 18,305 — but it still has a larger population of COFA migrants than Hawaii.

Under the 1986 Compacts of Free Association, which was later amended, “citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are legal nonimmigrants allowed, for indefinite periods of time, to live, work and study in the United States without need for a visa,” the Interior Department said. “They also serve in the U.S. military and currently serve in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces in large numbers that are disproportionate to the sizes of their populations. … In 1996, under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, FAS (Freely Associated States) citizens were deemed ineligible for federal public benefits. Thus began what has been a rising concern for the Guam and Hawaii governments that have directly borne the cost of public services related to FAS migrants, also referred to as ‘Compact impact.’”

Hawaii annually receives about $30 million to offset the financial costs related to COFA migrants and another $3 million or so in federal “discretionary funds.”

But in its fiscal 2018 budget, the Trump administration wants to eliminate discretionary funding for COFA migrants. The budget request provides no explanation.

“In previous years, OIA (the Office of Insular Affairs) used discretionary Compact Impact funding to offset educational service and infrastructure costs incurred by affected jurisdictions due to the residence of qualified nonimmigrants from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau,” according to President Donald Trump’s budget request. “OIA also expanded this funding to include community development priorities such as job training and other social services for FAS citizens. The Discretionary Compact Impact program is being proposed for elimination in 2018.”

While Hawaii’s congressional delegation fights to restore the discretionary funds, Mike Formby, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, said, “The important thing is we want to make sure the counts are as accurate as possible.”

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono said in a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “Knowing how many citizens of the Freely Associated States (FAS) are living and working in our communities will help to better serve these individuals and their families and honor the commitments we made to them under the Compacts. I will continue fighting to ensure that FAS citizens in Hawaii receive the federal support they were promised.”

The Interior Department said the census will cost $1.49 million.